Chelsea Women 4-0 Charlton
Chelsea Men 5-0 Morcambe
Both Chelsea's women and men made it through their weekend FA Cup matches after overcoming initial lower-league stubbornness, but had mixed fortunes in the draw.
Chelsea women found it difficult to break down Charlton of the Championship, but made progress shortly before the interval after Mayra Ramirez converted a Lucy Bronze cross.
A spot kick from Guro Reiten (who has just extended her contract to 2026) and goals from Aggie Beever-Jones (with her first kick after coming on as sub for her 50th appearance in a blue shirt) and fellow sub Niamh Charles made it a comfortable 4-0 win in the end, earning a clash with top-flight opposition in the shape of either Everton or Spurs in the 5th Round.
The real heroes of Sunday's game were the Kingsmeadow ground staff who worked for three nights, heating inflatable air cushions to combat the freezing conditions to ensure the pitch was playable. The postponed Everton v Tottenham tie, to determine Chelsea's next opponents, will be on 29 January. So intense was the frost that even Arsenal Women's home match in north London had to be cancelled.
The only dark cloud for Chelsea was seeing teenage midfielder Wieke Kaptein's stretchered off in stoppage time after Addicks sub Sophie O'Rourke bundled her over, earning a yellow card.
Gaffer Sonia Bompastor said afterwards that the dramatic exit had been a precaution as Kaptein had said she'd felt a twinge in her back, and that it would need more extensive medical examination.
Of the game itself, Bompastor said: "Sometimes you need to stay patient and stay confident. I'm pleased because I have depth in my squad and make sure I rotate. When [subs] come in and are able to make an impact, that's good for them individually, but also for the team because we'll have a bit of a headache in making choices for the future!"
Chelsea's men ended up with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Morecambe at the Bridge, earning the Blues a tricky trip to Brighton in the 4th Round in February.
It wasn't all plain sailing against the Shrimps, certainly not in the first half. A blatant handball won Chelsea a penalty in the 16th minute, but with Cole Palmer on the bench it fell to Christopher Nkunku to take the spot kick.
Keeper Harry Burgoyne guessed right and pulled off a good save, giving Morecambe impetus. But a speculative long-range Tosin shot took a deflection to beat the keeper five minutes before half-time, and the visitors never really recovered.
A brace from Joao Felix, another from Tosin and a consolation rebound goal from Nkunku wrapped matters up in the second half, disappointing 3,500 raucous travelling fans.
After hosting Bournemouth in midweek, Chelsea entertain Wolves at the Bridge on Monday night. Meanwhile Chelsea Women, building up to a 30,000+ attendance at Stamford Bridge against Arsenal on 26 January, travel to West Ham in the WSL before a clash against Durham in the League Cup at Kingsmeadow on Wednesday 22 January.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
